How to split yeast?

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Kingum

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Hi, I've been extract brewing for almost a year now and recently bought a two gallon and 3 one gallon glass jugs. I haven't done smaller batches, but I figured this will let me play around with more recipe variations. My plan is to do a standard boil for a 5 gallon batch (the only size I've been doing) and then fill the four different jugs with this batch so I can use different additives and compare the beers.

My question is: If I have, for example, White Labs Irish Ale liquid yeast, how do I split the package between the jugs? Is it as simple as just dividing the liquid yeast proportionately between the jugs and the yeast will multiply accordingly based on the given volume of “living space”? Any further suggestions are appreciated too.

Thanks in advance!!
 
i would just eyeball it, or you could measure it in a sanitized measuring cup before pitching and split it evenly that way. im sure theres a more scientific way to do this, and im sure somebody will tell you. but i think just eyeballing or doing the measuring cup should get you there.
 
Just eyeball it when you pour your yeast - the less possible routes for contamination the better (the yeast will expand to fill all available space assuming less say a 50% error in measurement).

I was tempted to tell you that to split yeast you had to use a very very small chisel.:D
 
This is what I use for such purposes, but I'm fussy like that.;)

Graduated cylinder:
11520376.jpg
 
I would never, ever eyeball a measurement, especially when your goal is to learn about differences in other aspects of the brew. You can only have one variable, eyeballing your yeast pitch makes it two and you won't be able to pinpoint the different flavors as coming from the yeast, or the other things you are adding.

I measure a suspended slurry by weight, in grams.
 
I would never, ever eyeball a measurement, especially when your goal is to learn about differences in other aspects of the brew. You can only have one variable, eyeballing your yeast pitch makes it two and you won't be able to pinpoint the different flavors as coming from the yeast, or the other things you are adding.

I measure a suspended slurry by weight, in grams.

In a way you are right but ...as is the nature of internet forums.. I must also disagree.

I think a 50% over/underpitch in this scenario would not have a significant effect on the taste profile - I will admit that this is pure speculation on my part and look forward to any contradictory opinion or evidence that you may have.
 
wow, you guys are waaaaaaaaaaaaay to into it. eyeball work is just fine. way over pitching poses a problem as i just found out by making 5-gallons of vinegar. but if you have an incling of what youre doing, an eyeball guesstimate works fantastic. my over pitch involved a triple rampup starter on a used slurry split between two five gallon batches and the tops blew off. i got a bacterial infection in one, and the other was fabulous. so as long as you dont over guesstimate, you should be fine. you guys are way too much with your grams of weight and spectrohydolyzers and ****. lol.
 
well..... if the addtives are post boil just add the yeast to the pot or bucket after the wort is cool. thenjust add the additves to each jug and fill with wort..
it sould like you are just boil one 5 gal batch so that what i would do.
keep the scale and Graduated cylinder in your pocket protector ;)
 
I've used one vial for four 1-gallon carboys and eye-balled, they all turned out fine
 
Well, Kingum, you can see by these posts the 2 sides to this. Some homebrewers enjoy the details and scientific side of brewing (nerds), others just like brewing and don't get caught up in such details (jocks). So, you can chose your way or anyway in between. We're all brewers, we enjoy making great beer, and that's all that really matters.:mug:
 
Well, Kingum, you can see by these posts the 2 sides to this. Some homebrewers enjoy the details and scientific side of brewing (nerds), others just like brewing and don't get caught up in such details (jocks). So, you can chose your way or anyway in between. We're all brewers, we enjoy making great beer, and that's all that really matters.:mug:

WOW, you just totally left out us cool guys! What's up with that? :rockin:
 
hillbillie, hmmmmmmmm. if i ever sat in a been bag chair naked eating cheetos, id be a hillbilly, but i havent gotten there yet.
 
"You can't tell me you haven't ever suffered from the "orange junk" syndrome"

you mean to tell me that youre a nerd and a hillbilly????? oh lord, what does this mean for the rest of us???
 
Sorry to contribute to the derailing here. To answer the OP, I would also probably pitch a normal amount into a full 5 gallons, then divide it up into jugs after a thorough mix/aeration.
 
actually, if you cant divide in less than like 5 minutes, thats a bad idea because the yeast immediately begins to flocculate within 5 minutes of being introduced to properly oxygenated beer with a gravity higher than 1.006 (which is anything that hasnt fermented yet) so unless you can divy it up very quickly, dont do that. on top of that, you risk infection from all of the extra transferring and extra equipment that is introduced into the beer. i would eyeball it. and stay away from the cheetos and bean bags.
 
Thanks for all the good advise. I think I'm going to pitch the yeat into the seperate jugs. I use a counterflow heat exchanger, so it's easier for me to cool while racking to the smaller jugs. I don't want to introduce new containers by having to rack it to a bucket first, pitching the yeast, and then racking to the smaller jugs.
 
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